Net zero: Sunak’s secret weapon or a gift to Labour?

Published

1 year ago

September 22, 2023

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General election campaigning has well and truly begun, and Rishi Sunak has put it all on light green at the political roulette table.

Labour has said it would stick to the original 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, and would focus on insulating people’s homes to in turn drive down energy consumption through heating.

But after a bruising by-election loss in Uxbridge and South Ruislip – primarily due to the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – Labour must be careful not to proselytise on ideology while the Tories claim to focus on people’s pockets.

Politics latest: Kemi Badenoch makes dig at Tory peer’s wealth

Fast becoming a divisive wedge issue, climate change no longer enjoys the cross-party consensus of past governments, and Labour will want to paint a clear and vivid picture of the green economy it claims to be able to create (never mind the green jobs some unions claim will never materialise).

But Labour today will be enjoying watching Tories tear chunks out of each other on net zero policy.

Former Foreign Office minister Zac Goldsmith has been a vocal critic of the prime minister since he resigned from his government in June, and yesterday he described Sunak’s supposed binning of meat and flight taxes and forcing households to have seven bins – something that was in fact never government policy – as “cynical beyond belief” and “reprehensible”.

Interestingly, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch took a swipe at Goldsmith on Sky News, stating: “Most people in this country do not have the kind of money that he has.”

The inference that Goldsmith is therefore out of touch with the British people due to his wealth is an intriguing attack strategy considering the very prime minister Badenoch was defending is also hugely wealthy and married to the daughter of a tech billionaire.

The key for Labour is to sit back and hope the Conservatives tear themselves apart all on their own – allowing the Opposition to continue to make the argument that the Tories are no longer a party of serious governance.

Where Labour could come unstuck, however, is if the majority of backbenchers rally behind their leader and if Sunak’s critics are silenced as a loud minority of fanatical eco-zealots.

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Tory unity, or a lack thereof, will decide how much Labour needs to worry.

But while Labour remains ahead with a hefty lead in the polls, it will be keen to let the blue-on-blue play out for as long as possible.

Politics

CZ walks free, Caroline Ellison receives prison sentence, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 22 – 28

Published

2 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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CZ walks free, Caroline Ellison receives prison sentence, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 22 – 28

Binance founder CZ walks free, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years, and more: Hodlers Digest

Politics

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quits Labour – criticising Sir Keir Starmer in resignation letter

Published

3 hours ago

September 28, 2024

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Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quits Labour - criticising Sir Keir Starmer in resignation letter

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.

The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.

She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.

In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.

“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.

Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.

Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.

Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.

She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.

“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.

“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”

Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.

Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.

“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.

Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.